Risk of suicidal behaviour is similar for SSRIs and tricyclics

Risk of suicidal behaviour after starting to take antidepressants was similar for four antidepressant drugs, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants, a study in JAMA has found (2004;292:338-43). Suicidal behaviour is more likely in the first month after starting antidepressants, especially during the first nine days.

The researchers—Dr Hershel Jick and colleagues with the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University, Massachusetts—compared the risk of non-fatal suicidal behaviour in patients in the United Kingdom who began treatment with one of three antidepressants (the SSRIs fluoxetine and paroxetine and the tricyclic amitriptyline) …